


The Magician (aka When I ruled the World)

by fanficjanai



Series: Major Arcana Series [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22453972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanficjanai/pseuds/fanficjanai
Summary: Athos thinks back on his time with Nergal
Series: Major Arcana Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615603
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	The Magician (aka When I ruled the World)

The dragon lay slain, the terror of another scouring had been avoided. Even so, Athos knew his time was fast approaching. He closed his eyes, and began dreaming, dreaming of a land far away, people long gone, and a time far past.

* * *

In the time after The Scouring, Athos had found himself wandering, seeking any place to call home. He didn't know what he was looking for really, or who, all he knew is that he would know when he found it. He was tired, so very tired and ready to give in when he found what he was looking for: Arcadia. It was a village where The Scouring didn’t matter; people made peace with dragons and dragons made peace with people. Seeing that it was possible to live like this brought healing to his weary soul.   
And there he found, for perhaps the first time, an equal and counterpart in the person of Nergal. Though Athos had fought alongside the other heroes of The Scouring, he had never really felt that they were anything approaching friends. For the first time, Athos had found someone who was as ready to study magic as he was, someone who was as fascinated by the inner workings of the universe.  
The years passed like minutes, the decades like days, and eventually even centuries wore on in a rapid pace. But all the love Athos bore for Nergal came at a terrible price: he was blind to Nergal’s slow corruption by the very magic he pursued. The day eventually came when lust for power completely overwhelmed Nergal, and even Athos could no longer ignore the signs. For years, small animals had gone missing here and there, a dog, a cat, maybe some farm animals. Athos had paid it no mind. But he could no longer ignore matters when a divine dragon child went missing. He confronted Nergal, and learned the terrible truth: Nergal had been killing all these years to experiment with quintessence. Their conflict was terrible and lasted a month, perhaps more. In the end, Athos won the battle but lost everything. The weariness in his soul had returned. He was tired, so very tired.

* * *

“As an old friend… I will fulfill my duty.” The words were heavy on his mind still. Was killing Nergal really all he could do? Was there no way he could have turned him from this awful path? It was far too late now, and yet Athos couldn’t help but feel partially responsible for what Nergal had become. Would he see Nergal in the life to come? Would Nergal forgive him? But as he lay dying Athos was no longer tired. He was in the arms of his three friends, Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector. Yes, friends. For the first time since that day in Arcadia when he had struck down Nergal, he felt he had friends.   
Athos was still smiling as he grew cold and Lyn’s soft tears fell on his cheeks.


End file.
